safety car

The race lived up to its reputation for a safety car every time when Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine's Pierre Gasly tangled on the first lap at Turn Four.

The race then unfolded as it did with the safety car.

But the advantage swung back to Norris when the safety car came out on lap 32, shortly after half-distance, to allow officials to clear debris from the track.

Russell, already on the edge after he was given soft tyres for the final stint after the safety car, spent the final stint managing an electrical issue that was causing systems failures in the car.

After a 15-minute delay, the race finally got under way, only for another rookie, Australian Jack Doohan, to crash his Alpine on the straight between Turns Four and Six and bring out the safety car.